After a very successful 30-year career as a strategic human resources executive with top Fortune 100 companies, Ruth Ross opened up her own consulting firm to focus on the intersection where human capital and business process fuse together in organizations. Her areas of expertise include leading organizations through times of change, leader coaching and development, employee development, managing through mergers and acquisitions and culture integration.

Executive Director of the St Pete Arts Alliance and career-long champion of nonprofits with a focus on growth, financial stability, and capital campaigns. If it has to do with the arts and is happening in St Pete, John Collins has something to do with it.

Drawing from deep experience as a consultant and Executive in People & Culture, Cat works with driven leaders and entrepreneurs to realize their potential through self-awareness, mindset, and the ability to action strengths with intention.

Executive Director of Equality Florida since its inception in 1997, legislative lobbyist, award-winning journalist, and LGBT activist. Named one of Florida's Most Powerful and Influential Women

A consulting industry veteran with a focus on Project and Program Management and Business Process Design, Paul brings to the table the analytical expertise for maximizing efficient and effective startup resource allocation.

An expert in all things social, Tracy manages or has managed the social media profiles of a wealth of well-known local businesses. In her current role as founder and CEO of Your Virtual Footprint, Tracy provides hands-on training in leveraging the power of social media.

An experienced manager with extensive expertise in both banking and sales, Ryan is currently the VP Branch Manager at Bank OZK.

Rochelle is the local go-to expert for all things legal in the small business world. As the president of her own law firm and now Managing Partner of AEGIS Law, Rochelle brings a practical and pragmatic approach to nonprofit and small business legal issues.

Joe Hamilton first entered the startup world with Steve Case's Revolution Money (prior to AMEX's $350MM purchase of the company). There he built the card fulfillment, statementing, customer service and communication infrastructure for the innovative credit card company. He then founded ThinkTank, a creative strategy firm that grew 50% year-over-year, and served as CEO of Big Sea digital marketing. Presently, Joe is the co-founder of the St Petersburg Group, a consulting firm that utilized agility and cross-functional methodologies to solve public sector problems with private sector strategies.

A dynamic and highly qualified accountant with extensive experience with and knowledge of accounting principles, taxation policies, and income tax procedures. Entrepreneur and owner of the Tampa Bay area accounting firm Taxes Tampa.

Dzuy has been in the tech space for a long time (he wrote his first QBASIC program at age 7). A well-rounded technologist, he has been everything from a help desk technician, developer, project manager, to his current role as small business owner and CTO of Big Sea Digital Marketing.

Wilborn is executive director of the Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College. As a journalist, Paul collected multiple awards from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. He won the Green Eyeshade Award from the Atlanta Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, the South’s top writing prize. Wilborn was chosen for the Paul Hansel Award, Florida’s top journalism prize, and was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. His plays have been produced at Stageworks, Off-Center Theater, Radio Theater Project, and University of Michigan. Paul was a founding member of Ybor City’s Artists and Writers Group.

Audra Carpenter, founder of zindo+co, a media and marketing education company, knows what it takes to launch and grow a business in today's environment. Owning a full-service marketing agency since 2009, she has experienced it all. Through these experiences, she has developed processes and precedures that can help improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital, and contribute to the success of your dreams.

Michael Jalazo is the Executive Director of the Pinellas Ex-Offender Re-entry Program (PERC), which works toward the successful reentry of prisoners to Pinellas County, Florida from the Department of Corrections of the Pinellas County Jail. For much of the previous decade, he was a creator of and the Program Administrator for a Life Skills project entitled Project New Attitudes with the Pinellas County Sherrif's Office. Mr. Jalazo is also an Adjunct Professor at St Petersburg College, and the Head Football Coach at Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Florida.